Brewers bullpen comes through again in win
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee's 5-4 victory over Philadelphia Friday night will be remembered for a number of reasons.
Aramis Ramirez's ninth-inning, walk-off RBI single won the game for the Brewers.
Young phenom Jean Segura's seventh-inning triple resulted in the Brewers pulling even at 4 and set the stage for their ninth-inning drama.
But perhaps the most important aspect of Friday's game was the performance of the Milwaukee bullpen.
Five Milwaukee relievers combined to hold Philadelphia to just two walks and a hit batter over the final 3 2/3 innings, giving the offense a chance to get back in the game.
"The bullpen was good again," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "They continue to do the job well."
In their last 31 games, the Brewers' bullpen has posted a 2.01 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .213 batting average.
"They've been great, man," said Ramirez, who bounced an 0-1 slider over third base to drive in the winning run. "Our bullpen has been unbelievable. The starters can be better, and they will [be]. They're better than what they've been so far. But the bullpen is unbelievable so far."
With the bullpen coasting, Milwaukee's offense went to work against Cliff Lee, whose three-game winning streak came to an end.
Norichika Aoki opened the seventh with a walk against Lee. The 23-year-old Segura smacked his league-leading eighth triple of the season, scoring Aoki.
Second baseman Freddy Galvis' cutoff throw to catcher Erik Kratz was off-target and bounced away allowing Segura to score to tie the game at 4.
"We got a little sloppy," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We threw the ball away on the triple. Freddy thought he had a play on the throw home."
Lee recovered and retired the next three batters. But the damage had been done.
After the game, Aoki's walk still stung Lee.
"I'm not very happy about that to be honest with you," Lee said. "The lead-off walk in the seventh ended up scoring. I've got to do a better job of making him earn his way on."
Francisco Rodriguez came on to work a perfect ninth inning and earned his first victory of the season when Segura reached on a one-out single, moved to third on Ryan Braun's base hit and scored on Ramirez's walk off.
"Any time you win a game, especially the way we did it -- we came back against one of the best pitchers in baseball -- that's good for a team," said Ramirez, who had gone 0-for-4 with two strikeouts before his ninth-inning hit. "We haven't been playing the way we like to so far, so that's a great ballgame right there."
Jason Horst (0-2) took the loss and was hardly happy with the result.
"It was a great situation to be in," Horst said. "I've done it before. The first was an infield hit but Braun and Ramirez got good hits. The good thing is we've got another game tomorrow."
The Phillies jumped out to 1-0 lead on back-to-back, one-out doubles by John Mayberry and Jimmy Rollins.
The Phillies added three in the fourth on Delmon Young's run-scoring single and a two-run homer by Kratz.
The Brewers put runners in scoring position with less than two outs in each of the first three innings but were unable to cash in against Lee, who struck out five through three innings.
NOTES: Aoki has struck out just 12 times in 263 plate appearances this season, the best ratio in the majors. ... The Phillies began the day a game above .500 for the first time this season. The Phillies haven't been two games above .500 since Oct. 1, 2012, (81-79). ... Since May 1, the Brewers have gone 9-26, falling from a half-game out of first place to 16.5 games back. ... Philadelphia has hit 22 home runs over the past 12 games. ... Brewers RHP Jim Henderson allowed one hit and struck out three in a scoreless inning during a rehabilitation assignment with Single-A Wisconsin. ... Phillies 2B Chase Utley, out since May 21 with an oblique strain, said he could return sometime this month. "I am definitely feeling better," he said. "I'm hoping to take some swings in the next three or four days, and at that point, I'll probably know where I'm at," Utley said.
